The best UK EAP providers for 2025

How to find the best EAP for your team

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While employee rating is important, the reason you are looking an EAP will also depend on your team’s situation, and the features and services you prioritise in each case will be different.

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We've spoken to hundreds of people looking to buy an EAP over the years at Spill and they always fit into one of two categories:

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Companies that already have support in place

• We have an EAP but nobody is using it
• We have an EAP but people are being denied support
• We have an EAP but we're just browsing options

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Companies with no support in place

• We don't have an EAP and someone needs help right now
• We don't have an EAP and want to build out our employee benefits
• We don't have an EAP in place and we need to fulfil a duty of care

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Whichever group you belong to, we have watch outs and tips for buying an EAP below to make sure you find the best fit for your team.

We have an EAP but nobody is using it

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If you are disappointed by usage on your EAP then you are not alone. A 2024 survey of UK business owners found that EAP usage was as low as just 3-5% of their employee base each year. Over a quarter of employees surveyed were unaware that their EAP even existed. This can be galling – especially when some EAP contracts lock you in for up to five years.

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However, it's important to acknowledge that the model for traditional EAPs is built for low usage by design. If you're paying around £10 per employee per year, it's impossible for the EAP to provide even 25% of the team with access to therapy. Let’s look at the maths:

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We know from a 2007 NHS study that 1 in 4 people experience a mental health problem of some kind each year, and most EAPs promise at least 8 counselling sessions for any employee that needs it. If we assume 25% of our 40-person company want to speak to a counsellor that’s 10 employees:

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Even the best EAP couldn’t make this maths work, and still make a profit. Through a combination of low employee engagement and directing employees who contact them away from counselling (more on this below), EAPs can promise plenty of support while providing very little.

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Here are some features to prioritise during the buying process to make sure you get the best EAP for your team and avoid paying for a service that goes unused:

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‍We have an EAP but people are being denied support

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For an EAP to be effective, your team must be able to book counselling sessions quickly. Surprisingly this is an issue with some EAP providers who claim to offer counselling. A study by Unmind estimated that 42% of employees who phoned their EAP were rejected for therapy due to limited sessions and low-quality therapy services.

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If you are reading this section, it is likely that you have had this experience already with your EAP and are looking for a better alternative. Perhaps a team member that you signposted towards your EAP has been rejected for support and is now worse off than before.

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Here are some features to prioritise during the buying process to make sure you get the best EAP for your team and avoid this happening a second time:

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We have an EAP but we're just browsing options

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With 78% of UK businesses offering their staff an EAP it's likely that you already have an EAP in place. It may also be providing the support that your team needs. However as lots of EAPs come with a 5-year contract, you might have last looked at what’s on the market around 5 years ago and a lot has changed since then.

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Here are some new trends around employee mental health to be aware of:

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Demand for counselling has never been higher

According to a report by the BACP, nearly a third of UK adults sought help from a counsellor or psychotherapist between 2023 and 2024. That’s a huge proportion of the working population, and the main reason behind wait times of up to 153 days to speak to a counsellor in some parts of the country. With this void in support, employers are increasingly providing access to counselling for their employees.

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Significant increase in ADHD and autism diagnoses

In the past 4 years, there has been an unprecedented rise in the number of people being diagnosed with ADHD and autism. A recent study by UKIM put the increase in diagnoses at 600% in just 2.5 years. Often neurodivergent employees are among the most productive members of the team which has led many employers to prioritise EAP services that offer specialised support for these conditions.

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Confidentiality is crucial to employees

Confidentiality of mental health services has always been a requirement, both ethically and legally. However, in 2024 this jumped up the priority list for employees as one EAP provider was accused of allowing strangers to eavesdrop on employee therapy sessions, as reported by the BBC. The best EAP providers should prioritise confidentiality, this is crucial if you want your team to use it.

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Getting good value has become non-negotiable

In November 2024, the government announced that businesses would have to increase their National Insurance contributions from April 2025. This is the latest in several developments that have made it harder for businesses in the UK to keep any budget aside for supporting their staff. As a result, making every pound count has become essential. Spending money on a service that isn’t providing value is no longer an option.

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Here are some features to prioritise during the buying process to make sure you get the best EAP for your team:

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We don't have an EAP and someone needs help right now

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Sometimes you will have a team member who unexpectedly needs mental health support. Perhaps they have experienced a bereavement or have started having panic attacks in the office. In these cases, you need a high quality service in place as soon as possible.

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When looking for support, prioritise EAP providers that can guarantee your team member will speak to an excellent counsellor. There are plenty of horror stories on Trustpilot of employees being connected to someone who was unable to help them or even made matters worse. You want to have full trust in the EAP service you are connecting a vulnerable team member to so prioritise checking this during the buying process.

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If you are comparing providers because a member of the team needs support right now, here are some features to prioritise when looking for the best EAP service for your team:

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We don't have an EAP and want to build out our employee benefits

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You may be looking to get something in place because the business has matured to a certain level or it’s in a good financial position. If you are not under time pressure, this is a great chance to get familiar with the different EAP options.

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At one end of the scale, basic EAP providers offer a 24/7 telephone helpline for employees to speak with an advisor who will assess their level of ‘need’ and refer them on for further support if required. More sophisticated services also provide self-help content and training workshops. And modern EAP alternatives (like Spill) do away with the helpline altogether and allow employees to book counselling sessions on-demand using an online booking system.

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If you are not sure which EAP services you should prioritise, start by surveying your employees to focus spend on services they perceive as valuable. Some modern EAP services (like Spill) also offer the chance to trial their platform including some therapy sessions to give to the team. This will help give you confidence that the service you are providing to your team is the right one.

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If you are comparing providers to build out your employee benefits, here are some features to prioritise when looking for the best EAP service for your team:

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We don't have an EAP and we need to fulfil a duty of care

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In 2002, Lady Justice Hale judged that ‘an employer who offers a confidential advice service, with referral to appropriate counselling or treatment services, is unlikely to be found in breach of duty.’ This judgement did not make it a legal necessity to provide employees with mental health support, but it did mean that doing so gave additional legal protection.

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If you are looking to fulfil a duty of care, it is a good idea to get an EAP service in place. Just make sure that it is confidential. The 2024 BBC investigation into EAP providers did highlight that at least one service was not as confidential as they advertised. So far, the fallout has been with the EAP which had its accreditation suspended in 2024 by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

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However if employers are found to have been negligent in the procurement of their chosen EAP service, this could change. The employer also could no longer be protected by the ruling referenced above because the EAP service they provided was not confidential.

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If you are comparing providers because you want to fulfil your duty of care, here are some features to prioritise when looking for the best EAP service for your team:

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A (long) list of the UK’s best EAPs

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Based on why you are looking for a new EAP service, you can now use easily compare options from our (long) list of the best EAP providers in the UK: